(Clearwisdom.net)
1. Cultivation
I was fortunate to begin Falun Dafa cultivation on September 5, 1996. I am 60 years old, but people say that I look like I am only 48 or 49. I am honest with people who make comments like this and tell them that Falun Gong has made me look this young. This is also now a starting point for me to clarify the truth. It is an opportunity Master created for me.
The first time I listened to Master's lectures in Jinan I was so excited. Every word Master said was so right, and it strongly moved my heart and mind. Having finished the first lecture I decided not to fall behind, no matter how busy I was. When I had heard all nine lectures, I understood that this truly is a higher-level Fa. This is cultivation. This is life's truth. The questions I had thought about for years are answered in the book Zhuan Falun, including, "Where did human beings originate? Where do human beings go after they die? Can human beings return to this human world?" Master's Fa principles are so profound. I could not wait to start practicing Dafa. I have changed completely, and I now always have a smile on my face. I am full of energy. My coworkers joked with me, "What happened? Have you won the lottery? You look so happy!" Winning the lottery is nothing compared to Falun Gong cultivation!
I keep in mind Master's teaching,
"I hope that all of you will treat yourselves as practitioners in future cultivation practice and truly continue your cultivation practice. I hope that both veteran and new practitioners will be able to practice cultivation in Dafa and succeed in it! I hope that after going home everyone will make the best use of his or her time for genuine cultivation practice." (Lecture Nine, Zhuan Falun)
Since then I have followed the Fa requirements with my every single thought and deed. Master said, "A person is like a container, and he is whatever he contains." ("Melt into the Fa" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
Fa study and exercise practice has raised my xinxing. My body was purified. I have undergone huge physical changes.
To enable practitioners to have a good environment, I discussed with my husband about hosting a Fa study group in our home. More than 20 practitioners attended every day. When we played Master's video lectures there were 50 to 60 people. My husband was very supportive. Sometimes he even offered the practitioners tea and water. He was quite friendly toward fellow practitioners. Practitioners liked him, too. He witnessed changes in me that Falun Gong practice had brought about. I previously had a bad temper and often shouted at others, but now I am totally different. I had also not been too healthy and easily caught colds. I had shoulder and elbow discomfort and suffered pain from inflammation of the muscles and tendons in my back. The pain often caused me to be bedridden for two weeks at a time. I also suffered from dizziness. Since I began practicing Falun Gong I have become energetic. When I get home every day I always transcribe the book and listen to Master's lectures.
I no longer watch TV. Even when the TV is on, it does not affect me. I wash my hands and clean myself up before I study the Fa, and no one is allowed to say anything bad about my Master. I have also eliminated the bad habit of playing Mahjong. My husband and I tried many times to stop playing it, but we were never successful. After I started practicing Falun Gong, I understood that gambling was bad, and I made up my mind to eliminate this attachment. Right after I had this righteous thought, Master helped me to correct my behavior and I eliminated this attachment. My husband was convinced of the power of Falun Gong. This has become a good story, being circulated among my friends and family.
2. Going Through Tests
Master said, "For a cultivator, all the frustrations he comes across among everyday people are trials, and all the compliments he receives are tests." ("A Cultivator is Naturally Part of It" from Essentials for Further Advancement)
I have been unable to pass every test I encountered on my cultivation path, but sometimes I do well. Sometimes I have a hard time passing the tests. For example, in March 1997 I received a call from a supplier who asked me to go there and get money. It was already 5:00 p.m., and it would take me two hours to get there. Normally I would be unable to return to Shanghai the same day, because I needed to coordinate with several other companies as well. When I got there I would have dinner with them and sing with them. Doing things this way is also practitioners' maximally conforming to common people's social customs while cultivating. But that day, for some reason, after I got the check I just wanted to go home. No matter how hard they tried to keep me in their presence, I still wanted to go home.
I got home after 10:00 p.m. When I tried to open the door the key did not work because the door was locked from inside. I was puzzled and thought no one was home. As I pondered what to do and where to go this late, my husband opened the door. I asked, "What is going on? How come you did not hear me knocking?" My husband looked embarrassed. Just then I saw a strange woman in the room. I suddenly understood many things!
I understood why that day I had rushed home--it was so that I could see this scene. I knew this was my test. I told myself I needed to control myself. I stared at the woman and the air seemed frozen. If I did not practice Falun Gong, I would absolutely not have let this go easily. I do not know what could have happened. Taking out a knife might even have been a possibility. But I just stood there numbly, watching my husband accompany the woman downstairs to send her off. I thought, "You even dared to send her off in my presence!" When he returned he acted like nothing had happened, which made things even worse! I was furious and I felt insulted. My self-esteem was trampled, and I was crying. I hated him from the bottom of my heart. "From now on, do not ever expect to get any money from me. When a man has money, there is trouble. I will no longer give you 3,000 yuan every month." After that, for over a year, I never smiled at and never spoke with him. I could not let it go. I could not pass that test. No matter what my husband did, he could not bring back the happiness we used to have. One day he said to me, "I do not think you have cultivated well enough. Will you never talk to me again? I was wrong. But won't you give me a chance to change myself? I know it is hard for practitioners--you have to be tolerant, even when you are angry."
I could not help crying after I heard this. I studied Master's lecture "What is Forbearance?" When I had studied the Fa before it had been a mere formality. Nothing really deeply affected my mind. That seemed to be the reason it took me so long to pass this test. When I truly comprehended the Fa from the Fa's perspective, my compassion and tolerance emerged from the bottom of my heart. This was a perfect opportunity for me to raise my xinxing, but I refused to take advantage of this opportunity! This might have been due to something I owed him from before. Now I had started practicing, and he created this opportunity for me, to raise my level. I should have been thankful. Continuous Fa study helped me understand more Fa principles, and when I truly let go of my attachment I found that I had a pure, tolerant, and peaceful mindset. I felt greatly relieved. I went to my husband with a smile and said, "I am a practitioner. This is Master testing me. I thank you for giving me this opportunity to raise my xinxing. For anything I did wrong before, I apologize." We became happy and peaceful again. My husband also became more diligent and nicer to me. With Master's protection and guidance I passed this test and raised my xinxing.
3. Disseminating the Fa
As we all know by now, cultivation is not merely cultivating ourselves well. Our prehistoric vows and predestined relationship with Master are all for assisting Master in Fa-rectification and disseminating the Fa. Eventually assimilating into the Fa is every practitioner's responsibility. There are many moving stories told about compassionately disseminating the Fa and telling of the mighty power of Dafa.
In November 1998 we made the Fa known in Jiading County. A 72-year-old man in a wheelchair that was pushed by his grandson came to the practice site. I greeted him and asked, "Could I ask why you want to practice Falun Gong?" He first emphasized that his physical handicap was not due to any illness, saying, "I got an electric shock in 1962." He then pointed to a woman in her 60s or 70s, "She is my cousin. Three years ago she had liver cancer. Her daughter is a practitioner and works in Nanjing. She went home after she heard about it and asked her mother to start practicing Falun Gong. My cousin's stomach was huge then, and her face was jaundiced. The doctor said she would live at most for six months. Look how healthy she is now! She is the one who introduced people in our town to Dafa. I know Dafa is good. I want to practice."
I was profoundly moved and excited to hear that. I said, "Uncle Tang [in China, it is polite and affectionate to address an older man outside the family as uncle], but of course! I will teach you how to practice, as long as you believe in Master and believe in Dafa!" He held my hands and got out of his wheelchair. He could not stand steadily and was still shaking a little. I encouraged him, "Now you should just consider yourself a normal, healthy person." To avoid disturbing other practitioners, I worked with him on the sidelines and taught him all five exercises. He had spent 36 years in the wheelchair. His hands and feet were not easily controlled, but Master saw his determination. Uncle Tang followed my lead and learned the exercises. November was still chilly, and while doing the standing exercise, he had a runny nose, so I wiped it for him. I felt close to him. He invited us to his house, where I saw that he had many things from other practices, like Ba Gua. I said, "Falun Dafa is cultivation. Master taught us to only follow one cultivation way." He immediately cleaned up everything.
Completely unexpectedly, on the fourth day of Falun Gong practice he left his wheelchair behind and, using only crutches, he walked over to the practice site. It is usually a 25-minute walk, but it took him an hour and a half. After he arrived he was so excited, "It is so strange. I used to be afraid of the dark at night, but now I do not have any fear at all." We said, "It is because now you practice Falun Gong, the evil is afraid of approaching you. We all have Master's fashen to protect us!" He was so happy to hear that. His story made the rounds in the entire town. That afternoon the town head came to our practice site and looked at Master's picture and said, "It's so miraculous!" Just like that, many predestined people gradually walked into Dafa cultivation. Some are students. Some are teachers. Some are peasants. Some are highly educated people or government officials.
Two months later, Uncle Tang participated in a Shanghai Fa experience sharing conference. He looked ten years younger. He kept telling people, "Falun Dafa is good. Falun Dafa allowed me to stand up after sitting in my wheelchair for 36 years. I am so grateful to Master, and I am so grateful to Dafa!"
4. Clarifying the Truth to the Police
On April 25, 1999, the CCP abused it authority and was responsible for the "4.25 Incident." They then concocted the "Tiananmen Square Self-immolation Incident." With orders from above, all police officers got busy.
One rainy day a phone message called me back to the company, where two people were waiting for me. They showed their identification. The man was a police chief from the police department's Political and Security Section in my residential area. The woman was a section chief. I thought righteously, "Now that you are here, I should explain the persecution to you." They felt awkward and did not know where to start. I reminded them righteously, "You can ask any questions you might have. But I have to remind you that you are not allowed to say anything disrespectful regarding my Master."
They smiled and started asking me questions, "How many practitioners are there? How many practice sites are there? Who is the leader?" I told them that people came daily to learn Falun Gong. Nobody forced them to come. The people who came earlier taught people that came later. We never asked for money for any of this. If today you want to practice, you can just come. If tomorrow you do not want to practice any more, you can leave. There is no leader."
After I answered their questions I did not give them an opportunity to ask more and started talking about the principles and characteristics of Falun Dafa. Based on statistics of a survey of over 2,000 practitioners, it was found that practicing Falun Gong helps improve health, and medical expenses decreased significantly. I also told them of my own experiences and about the Dafa miracles I have heard of and seen. Two-and-a-half hours passed. They listened attentively and seemed to have forgotten what they came for. It was lunchtime, so I invited them to have lunch with me, so we could continue the conversation after lunch. They said they had to leave. I asked them what kind of impression they had of me. The man said right away, "A good one." The woman also said so after some hesitation. They said, "We know that you are introducing us to the Fa!" I said, "That is great! You have great enlightenment quality. I hope you can assimilate into the Fa and treat Dafa well. Do not set roadblocks for yourself in your human life."
On July 20, 1999, the Jiang regime began the savage persecution of Falun Gong. There was a decree from up above to keep practitioners like me under close surveillance.
The police chief I had met before called me and said he wanted to be friends with me. I thought, "Why would I be friends with people like that?" But then I thought, "My righteous thoughts can stop him from participating in the persecution." So we often called each other. When I visited him I usually brought some "truth clarifyin"g materials for him and talked to him about being an enlightened being, "You cannot change the job you are doing. But you can be a good person when doing your job. Do not ever do anything that would make you lose virtue. You should treat Dafa well and treat practitioners well." He always listened and had a good impression of me. He also said, "It would be great if everyone were like you. You are quite persuasive and rational." He also told me, "You can rest assured. I believe in Buddha. I know for doing bad things that one will receive karmic retribution. I will not do anything that hurts others. I know what I should do, but unfortunately I don't have control over my job." I said, "That is no excuse. You can always find ways to avoid doing bad things. Do not ever have evil thoughts!" Once when we met he said happily, "It is so strange. Each time I was ordered to arrest Dafa practitioners I always found excuses to avoid it." He asked whether it was Master who was helping him. I said, "Yes. It must have been that Master sees your enlightenment quality." He smiled, "It is true. I could feel it too." He then whispered to me, "I have hidden and taken good care of your Master's picture and books."
It has been a while since we last met. After the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published I decided to save him. On the phone he seemed excited, "Where have you been? Can we meet?" I said, "Sure." When we met I immediately asked him, "Have you read the Nine Commentaries?" He said he knew about the book but was afraid to read it. I immediately took out a copy and gave it to him. He said, "I have no place to put the book." I smiled, "Look at how scared you are. Such a big house, and there is no room for this book? How about this? You read it. When you finish it, you can return it to me. You are a CCP member. If you do not read it, you will regret it greatly in the future. Hurry up and quit the CCP, so you can eliminate the mark of the evil."
He took it seriously and put it in his bag. So far he still has not returned it to me. He told me that he had made the right decision. Just like that he was saved. This predestined person has now been transferred to another department. In his own words, "The CCP does not want to use me any longer. But I have no regrets. I feel so relieved!"
